2025/26 Charly Alcaraz

[Swartzy]

His best game at the club was last season at Crystal Palace and neither Ndiaye and KDH were on the pitch. You seem to be on a crusade against Charly

Tell me when I've changed how I look at charly.

He doesn't carry any other strings to his bow, he can't play in any other position.
Why is he always going straight back to pickford now when not facing goal.
Look at his passing range once back to goal.
He cant dribble
He cant turn a player.
He is a soley direct player when your flowing forward.

He has a strength in his game, but if your not playing to that strength then he will be more of hinderance.

 

[Swartzy]

We had 5 shots yesterday. Alcaraz had 3. When Ndiaye is out Alcaraz is necessary. Grealish isn’t doing enough. The strikers aren’t in the game (this is a tactics issue too, but still). The fullbacks aren’t threats. We have nothing without him.

I'm not sure you understand the game properly, how many misplaced passes did he fluff yesterday.
When he got that run into the 18yard box, it's like his brain shutdown.

 

[Curtis]

Tell me when I've changed how I look at charly.

He doesn't carry any other strings to his bow, he can't play in any other position.
Why is he always going straight back to pickford now when not facing goal.
Look at his passing range once back to goal.
He cant dribble
He cant turn a player.
He is a soley direct player when your flowing forward.

He has a strength in his game, but if your not playing to that strength then he will be more of hinderance.

He can't dribble? What? also nothing has changed you've been consistent in your criticism of Charly , you're just fixated on his supposed problems as a player

 

[TheBigMan]

I'm not sure you understand the game properly, how many misplaced passes did he fluff yesterday.
When he got that run into the 18yard box, it's like his brain shutdown.

Same as Grealish yesterday, we where poor in the final 3rd

 

[Swartzy]

He can't dribble? What?

Tell me when he's done it than ?

What about all the rest of the things ive mentioned.

Look at the chelsea ( i think it was ) he moved back the left side and played that shocking pass back to pickford "once again" and it went straight to them..

I dont dislike him at all, I just know what he's good at and don't try cover my eyes to the weaknesses of his game.

Just think, if you've had to go back to last season to bring up a game without Illy or KDH than doesn't that say something..

 

[Swartzy]

Same as Grealish yesterday, we where poor in the final 3rd

Once again, we didn't have KDH and Illy on the pitch..
That is such a massive difference missing those 2 players

 

[SuperKev91]

Someone has to create chances to score!

Grealish isn’t doing it anymore. Ndiaye is gone. KDH doesn’t do it as a #10. McNeil.

The pressing stuff is nonsense also fwiw.

100%, and yet Grealish has created chances every game other than last night - whilst not being an utter liability to us in transition and pointless off the ball.

If you don’t think his/Barry’s pressing was an issue last night I don’t know what to say to you. He ran hard, a lot. But it was headless chicken stuff. He does a lot of glamorous pressing where it looks like he’s working hard to get across - the reality is he’s in the wrong place half the time. He doesn’t press well with his team, neither does Barry.

 

[TheBigIguana]

I'm not sure you understand the game properly, how many misplaced passes did he fluff yesterday.
When he got that run into the 18yard box, it's like his brain shutdown.

On a very basic level I understand that if we do not shoot we will not score

 

[TheBigIguana]

100%, and yet Grealish has created chances every game other than last night - whilst not being an utter liability to us in transition and pointless off the ball.

If you don’t think his/Barry’s pressing was an issue last night I don’t know what to say to you. He ran hard, a lot. But it was headless chicken stuff. He does a lot of glamorous pressing where it looks like he’s working hard to get across - the reality is he’s in the wrong place half the time. He doesn’t press well with his team, neither does Barry.

I don’t, we largely shut Arsenal down in possession. The best team and one of the highest scorers in the league had to work to move the ball for most of the game. Given this isn’t even their primary job I think they both did fine.

We can build an entire team of functional nothing players and we will never have issues with discipline off the ball. And we will also finish 20th. At some point someone has to be able to do something.

 

[SuperKev91]

Some of the takes in this are way OTT either way.

For me he’s got some really obvious qualities, and some really glaring weaknesses.

Last night the former was more apparent which is why people are losing their heads.

He’s a decent squad player and someone that’s great to come on when we are chasing a game or need to inject some intensity.

I think last night highlighted where he struggles though, when the game is slower and when he has to play a lot more of it in his head. (I’ve praised Iroegbunam for the opposite, he usually struggles in the quiet moments when he has to keep shape and stay disciplined, though he was excellent at that last night)

 

[SuperKev91]

I don’t, we largely shut Arsenal down in possession. The best team and one of the highest scorers in the league had to work to move the ball for most of the game. Given this isn’t even their primary job I think they both did fine.

We can build an entire team of functional nothing players and we will never have issues with discipline off the ball. And we will also finish 20th. At some point someone has to be able to do something.

I can promise you them being shut down was very little to do with either of them. They played through the first line without an issue most of the time.

That isn’t the function of the top two though in our press. We are still at our most dangerous when the other side has the ball and we win it high up. It removes the build up phase which we struggle with. We barely won the ball high last night despite them constantly playing out.

It’s something KDH and Ndiaye are excellent at.

 

[TheBigIguana]

I can promise you them being shut down was very little to do with either of them. They played through the first line without an issue most of the time.

That isn’t the function of the top two though in our press. We are still at our most dangerous when the other side has the ball and we win it high up. It removes the build up phase which we struggle with. We barely won the ball high last night despite them constantly playing out.

It’s something KDH and Ndiaye are excellent at.

We’re not at our most dangerous ever, which is a topic for a very specific different thread.

But also it’s Arsenal! That’s their whole thing!

 

[Curtis]

Tell me when he's done it than ?

What about all the rest of the things ive mentioned.

Look at the chelsea ( i think it was ) he moved back the left side and played that shocking pass back to pickford "once again" and it went straight to them..

I dont dislike him at all, I just know what he's good at and don't try cover my eyes to the weaknesses of his game.

Just think, if you've had to go back to last season to bring up a game without Illy or KDH than doesn't that say something..

I went back to last season because illy and kdh are always in this season's lineup when fit!

 

[TheBigMan]

Once again, we didn't have KDH and Illy on the pitch..
That is such a massive difference missing those 2 players

I agree, Alcaraz isn't great or poor, he misplaced several passes last night, no excuse for that. It would be hard for most with nothing in front of you , McNeil and an out of soughts Grealish either side.

 

[TheBigIguana]

Tell me when he's done it than ?

What about all the rest of the things ive mentioned.

Look at the chelsea ( i think it was ) he moved back the left side and played that shocking pass back to pickford "once again" and it went straight to them..

I dont dislike him at all, I just know what he's good at and don't try cover my eyes to the weaknesses of his game.

Just think, if you've had to go back to last season to bring up a game without Illy or KDH than doesn't that say something..

No one is arguing he doesn’t have issues (at least I’m not). It’s simply that the strengths he brings are both necessary for us to win games and not present when he’s not playing. It’s really that simple.

If we sell him in the summer and bring in someone else who can do the job (this is 100% going to happen unless Moyes gets canned) that’ll be fine for me. But currently he has to play.